It had been two days.
Two long days since she last heard from Dhruv.
And she hated that she was counting.
The first morning, she had brushed it off. Maybe he was busy. Maybe something came up. He was a bit mysterious, after all, it was part of what made him so… him.
But by the second day, when her texts were left on read, and her calls went unanswered, her heart sank deeper into the pit of uncertainty.
She stared at her phone now, lying beside her untouched cup of coffee. The little screen was silent, mockingly so.
"Still nothing?" Anu asked softly, sitting across from her at the kitchen table.
Riya shook her head.
Anu leaned in, concerned. "But… after everything, he came to your house, brought you soup, tucked you in like some walking K-Drama fantasy... Why would he just vanish?"
Riya tried to smile, but it came out brittle. "Maybe I imagined it all. Maybe I read too much into it."
"Rii, you blushed like a tomato when I told you he came."
"I thought he felt it too…" Riya murmured, eyes clouding. "That moment under the umbrella, the way he looked at me, like I wasn't just another person in his day."
Anu came around the table and sat beside her, gently placing a hand on her shoulder. "Hey. You're not crazy. Something was there. I saw it too."
"Then why is he avoiding me like I don't exist?"
Anu was silent.
Riya exhaled shakily and leaned back, eyes glistening. She didn't like being this vulnerable. Not over someone who owed her no promises. But something about Dhruv had opened a quiet, trembling space in her heart, and now it ached.
She didn't know he was protecting her.
That every time he picked up his phone, he forced himself to put it back down. That ignoring her felt like slicing into something raw and living inside himself.
She didn't know he was tearing himself apart in silence.
But she felt it. And it hurt.
,,,,,,,,,
Night had fully fallen when Dhruv stood again atop the abandoned clocktower, his eyes scanning the horizon like a sentinel.
Sunny followed close behind, bundled in his jacket, laptop bag slung over his shoulder. "Okay, I've got the energy trace files you asked for. Satellite data too. But full disclosure, this tech wasn't built to detect celestial evil."
"It'll have to do," Dhruv said flatly.
They crouched over a flat table, Dhruv laying out a hand-drawn constellation map while Sunny booted up his tablet.
"So," Sunny began, "you told me this dark energy feeds on chaos and fear. Does it have a pattern?"
Dhruv pointed to the skyline. "It emerges near emotionally volatile zones, hospitals, war memorials, places of grief or unresolved pain."
"Like... trauma hotspots?"
"Yes. And lately, it's been appearing more frequently. That means it's gaining mass, becoming sentient."
Sunny looked up from the screen, suddenly chilled. "Sentient? Like... alive?"
Dhruv nodded. "Soon, it will take form. If it chooses a vessel, the darkness could spread across this realm like wildfire."
He paused, eyes narrowing. "And there's something else."
"What?"
"It formed here. On Earth. That shouldn't be possible. Which means something, or someone, is acting as a bridge."
Sunny stared. "Wait, are you saying someone on Earth is helping this thing?"
"Not knowingly, perhaps. But yes."
Dhruv moved to the edge of the rooftop, his voice dropping. "The energy doesn't just feed on chaos. It amplifies it. Wherever it goes, people grow unstable, violent, paranoid, hateful."
"And you think this is just the beginning?"
Dhruv nodded once. "The celestial balance is shifting. Which is why I was sent here. But now…"
Sunny leaned forward. "But now you've got feelings."
Dhruv looked away.
Sunny softened. "Look, man. I don't get the whole 'star lord rules of engagement' thing. But if you're losing focus, we need a plan. A real one."
Dhruv finally met his eyes. "We'll track its path. Identify its next location. And stop the energy from attaching to a vessel."
"And if it already has?"
"Then we find the host. And remove the darkness, before it removes us all."
Sunny nodded, the seriousness sobering him for once. "Guess this isn't your average Earth problem."
Dhruv's voice was cold, focused. But somewhere beneath it, something trembled.
"She's still in my mind," he admitted, quieter now. "No matter how hard I try to push her away."
Sunny didn't smile this time. He just said, "Maybe she's the only thing still keeping you human."
.......